Jack



June 10, 1930. L. J. FULLER 1,763,144

JACK

Filed Jan. 10, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 W/77vE65E6 4 A? 3mm (fr /5 J.Fl/ZLEJ M 7 a'kozmq June 10, 1930.

Filed Jan. 10, 1927 .1. FULLER JACK 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 10,1930 LEWIS J. FULLER, F CLEVELAND, OHIO JACK Application filed January10, 1927.

This invention relates to pushing and pulling implements, and moreparticularly to a jack which is designed for automobile garage use, butwhich is susceptible for other purposes.

One of the primary objects of the present invention is to provide avehicle jack operated by an electric motor, thereby eliminating thedifficulties consistent with the use of hand operated jacks.

Another prime object of the invention is to provide automatic means forstopping the operation of the jack when the lifting screw has reachedthe limit of its travel in either direction, thereby assuring againstbreakage of parts.

Another salient feature of the invention is the provision of novel meansfor reversing the direction of movement of the lifting screw, withoutreversing the direction of rotation of the drive motor.

A further object of the invention is the provision of means forautomatically throwing the jack out of gear when the lifting screw 2 hasreached the limit of its travel in either direction and forautomatically operating a switch for cutting off the flow of currentthrough the motor.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improvedvehicle jack of the above character, which will be durable and eflicientin use, one that is simple and easy to manufacture, and one which can beplaced upon the market at a reasonable cost.

\Vith these and other objects in View, the invention consists in thenovel construction,

arrangement and formation of parts, as willbe hereinafter morespecifically described,

claimed and illustrated in the accompanying.

drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved jack, showing the coverplate of the jack removed to illustrate the interior mechanism of thejack. i

Figure 2 is a horizontal section throughthe jack taken on the line 2-2of F igure 1 look-- ing in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 3 is a vertical section through-the jack taken on the line 33 ofFigure 2, look ing in the direction of the arrows, illustrat- Serial No.160,258.

ing the gear shifting mechanism and the switch to open and close thecircuit of the motor,

Figure 4, is a vertical section taken on theline H of Figure 3 lookingin the direction of the arrows.

Referring to the drawings in detail, wherein particular referencecharacters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views,the letter Agenerally indicates an improved jack, which comprises acasing 10 for housing the various operating parts of the same.

, The housing 10 can be of any size or 0011- figuration, best suited forthe purpose intended, and as shown, includes side walls 11, the rearwall 12, the front wall 13 and the top and bottom walls 14 and 15. Thewall 13 is preferably made removable, so that the interiormechanism willbe exposed so as to permit oiling and to allow repairs to be made.

The top "and bottom walls 14: and 15 are provided with aligned openings16 and a vertical sleeve 17 is fitted in and secured to the walls of theopenings. This sleeve slidably supports the lifting screw 18 of thejack, and the top of the screw can be provided with any preferred typeof lifting head 19. The top, wall portion can also be provided with anysuitable type of handle 20 to permit conven- 30 ient lifting of thejack.

The sleeve 17 at a point intermediate its ends, is preferably divided orslit and a feed nut 21 is inserted in the slit portion, which nutreceives the lifting screw 18. This feed nut 21 is freely rotatable inthe sleeve 17, but is held against raising and lowering movement in thesleeve 17 by contact therewith. Formed on the periphery of the feed nutis a worm wheel 22 which meshes with a worm 23 formed on or secured to ahorizontally disposed drive shaft 24 rotatab'ly mounted in the casing.This drive shaft 24 also has keyed thereto on opposite sides of the worm22, spur gear wheels 25 and 26, the purpose ofwhich will be laterdescribed.

'An electric motor 30 of the desired rating is connected with thehousing 10 in any desired way and the armature shaft 31 of the motor isextended into the casing. A worm 32 is connected with the shaft 31 inany desired way and has connected therewith a worm wheel 33, which iskeyed or otherwise secured to a cross shaft 34 extending toward andunderneath the drive shaft 24. Mounted directly below the shaft 24 andin parallel relation thereto is a driven shaft 35 and mounted betweenthe drive shaft 24 and the driven shaft 35 is a stub shaft 36. This stubshaft 36 has rotatably mounted thereon an idle spur gear 37. This idlespur gear 37 meshes at all times with the spur gear which is keyed tothe shaft 24.

Feathered upon the driven shaft are drive spur gears 38 and 39, andthese gears are provided respectively with grooved co'llars 40 and 41.The grooved collars 40 and 41 receive rider yokes, 42 and 43,respectively, which are slidably mounted upon a guide rod 44 rigidlysecured in the casing. The rider yokes 42 and 43 are connected togetherby an operating rod 45 which extends exteriorly of the casing. This rod45 can be provided with a manipulating handle 46 whereby the gears 38and 39 can be shifted by hand. It is to be noted that when the gear 39is in driving relation with the gear 26, that the gear 38 is out ofmeshing engagement with the idle gear 37. The shaft has keyed directlythereto a worm wheel 47 which meshes constantly with a worm 48 on theshaft 34. It is obvious that when the motor 30 is in operation, theshaft 35 will be driven therefrom through the mediums of the worm 32,worm wheel 33, shaft 34, worm 48, and

worm wheel 47. The operation of the shaft 35 will drive the shaft 24 inone direction through the medium of the spur gear 39 and the spur gear26. In order to drive the shaft 24 in the opposite direction, it isnecessary that the gears 39 and 38 be shifted so that the gear 39 willbe moved out of meshing engagement with the gear 26, and the gear 38 bein meshing engagement with the idle gear 37 which will drive the gear Byrotating the shaft 24 in the opposite direction, it can be seen that thelifting screw 18 can be either raised or lowered, as desired.

in order to prevent injury to the various operating parts of the jackwhen the lifting screw has reached the limit of its travel in eitherdirection, automatic means is provided for stopping the motor and formoving the gears 38 and 39 to a neutral position. This embodies a triplever 50 which is rockably mounted in the casing adjacent its lower endupon a suitable bracket 51 secured to the bottom plate 15 of the casing.This trip lever is provided at its opposite end with trip fingers 52 and53, which are adapted to ride into the sleeve 17 at different timesthrough openings 54 formed in the said sleeve. These tripping fingersare preferably provided with cam faces for facilitating the rockingthereof by the trip lug which is secured to or formed on the lower endof the lifting screw 18. As shown in Figure 3 of the drawings, the uppertrip finger 52 is disposed within the sleeve and upon raising of thelifting screw 18 by the feed nut 21 to the limit of its travel, the triplug will engage the finger 52 causing the rocking of the trip lever andthe moving of the finger 53 into the lower opening 54 of the lever andin the path of the trip lug 55 upon downward movement of the lift screw.The movement of the trip lever 50 is utilized for operating the switchfor the motor and shifting the gear to a neutral position. This meansconsists of a rod 56 having an upwardly bent right-angularly disposedend 57 which is secured to the lever 50 above its pivot point. This rodextends through the side wall of the easing into a switch box 58 and therod is angled horizontally as at 59, so to extend through the box. Thisportion of the rod has secured thereto the switch block or bridge piece60 which is secured to one wire of the motor. The block can be mountedfor sliding movement in the switch box 58 in any desired way. At thelimit of the travel of the block or bridge piece 60 are arranged thecontacts 61 and 62 which are connected respectively to the other wire ofthe motor. The angled portion 59 of the rod 56 extends through theswitch box 58 and has connected thereto, one arm of a bell crank 63which is rockably mounted at its angle, as at 64, to the switch box. Theother arm of the bell crank is connected to a double ended lever 65which is also rockab'ly mounted at a point equidistant its ends to thesaid box. This double ended lever 65 can be connected by a link 66 withthe operating rod 45.

By this arrangement, it can be seen that when the lifting screw 18reaches its limit of travel, that the lever 50 will rock which willcause the moving of the bridge or block 60 to a neutral position betweenthe contacts 61 and 62, consequently cutting off the motor. The movementof the rod 56 will also actuate the rod 45 through the medium of thebell crank 63 and the double ended lever 65. This action of the rod willmove the gears 38 and 39 to a neutral position out of meshing engagementwith the idle wheel 37' and the gear 26. When it is desired to startback, the rod 45 can be manually operated for throwing either one of thegears 38 or 39, as the case may be, into meshing engagement with thisgear and this movement of the rod will also operate the rod 56 causingthe bridge piece 60 to be moved either into contact With the contacts 61or 62 which will again start the motor in operation.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that I have provided anovel jack which is automatically operated and which is of a substantialand durable character.

Changes in details may be made without departing from the spirit or thescope of the invention, but what I claim as new, is:

In a device of the class described, a rotatable feed nut, a screwoperated by said nut, an electric motor, a control switch for the motor,a driven shaft operated'from the motor, a drive shaft for the feed nut,a pair of drive gears keyed to the drive shaft, an idle 7 gear meshingwith one of said drive gears, a 10 pair of gears feathered upon thedriven shaft,

:1 shift rod for the feathered gears, the feathered gears being arrangedfor movement into and out of engagement with the idle gear and the drivegear, a trip lever rockably mounted adjacent to one end defining arelatively long arm and a relatively short arm, trip fingers on theopposite ends of the arms, a trip lug on the screw for engaging one tripfinger or the other at the limit of the travel of the screw foroperating the trip lever, and means operatively connecting the long armof the trip lever to the control switch and shift rod, as and for thepurpose specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

, LEWIS J. FULLER.

